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- [00:01]
Ally Carter
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- [00:39]
Mikayla
Hi, guys. Welcome back to I'll read what she's reading. I'm Mikayla.
- [00:43]
Reggie
I'm Reggie.
- [00:44]
Mikayla
And I'm Kennedy. And today we have a very special guest, Ally Carter.
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Ally Carter
Hello. Hi, everybody.
- [00:53]
Mikayla
Welcome. We actually had the Most Wonderful Crime of the Year as our December book club book.
- [00:58]
Ally Carter
Oh, thank you.
- [00:59]
Mikayla
Yes. It was so fun. And I just have to say, I grew up reading. Okay, correct my pronunciation. The Gallagher girl.
- [01:10]
Ally Carter
Gallagher. Yes.
- [01:11]
Mikayla
Yes. I was obsessed with that growing up. I've read it probably four or five times all the way through, and. And I just love them so, so much. And so this is, like, a surreal moment to, like, meet a childhood author, and I just love it. And we have read the Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, and then I've also read, like, your Blonde Identity and then your new book that is coming out. So exciting.
- [01:39]
Ally Carter
Thank you. I was, you know, when we made the transition from. From teens to adult, I was like, you know, well, the. The Gallagher girls have grown up, and. And it's. That probably been the most fun part about all of this is meeting readers like you who, you know, and sometimes they'll come to events or signings, and they'll have, like, the picture of when they met me when they were 12, you know, and it's just. It just is so incredible. It's amazing to see the incredible people that you guys have all turned into, and I knew you would, but it's. It's so fun to reconnect with all of my readers.
- [02:14]
Mikayla
Oh, I am so sweet. Yeah, I. I've loved seeing you also grow as an author and to read your kind of more like adult fiction as well. And it's so fun. So kind of along those lines, like, tell us your story. How did you become an author? How did you start from, like, the young adult and then going into your adult?
- [02:35]
Ally Carter
Well, my mom was an English teacher, and so books and stories were always very important in our house. And I also grew up on a farm, and so. And. And I'm quite A bit older than you guys. And so, like, in my childhood, there. There was no. There was no iPhone, there was no ipod. There was. If you were on a tractor day bailing hay, you were on a tractor all day bailing. Hey. And that was it. That was that you entertained yourself. And so I just always had this really kind of wackadoodle imagination, and I was always telling myself stories. And I was also a very reluctant reader, which I would love to talk to a bunch of other authors about this, if I am the only one, because most authors are like, yes, I read everything I could get my hands on it. I would start everything I could get my hands on, and then I'd get about 30 pages and I'd be like, why'd they do it? Like that they should have done this and this. And then they should have done this. And so I. It was really hard for me to actually get into a book. So then, like. But when I was in middle school, I distinctly remember one day I was reading the Outsiders by Essie Hinton, and I grew up in Oklahoma, and so I was walking through my house with a, like, old beat up, I think probably a library copy of it, and my dad saw me read and he said, you know, she's from Tulsa, right? And I knew the book was set in Tulsa, but I did not realize a, S.E. hinton was a woman, B, that it was. She was actually from a town about an hour away from where I grew up. And see that I definitely didn't know that she had written it when she was a teenage girl. And so I immediately was like, oh, well, that's what teenage girls from Oklahoma do is we write books. And then Tom Cruise stars in the movie and then just boom, boom, boom. Like the path had been laid out before me. And so that was. That was it. And I just really, from that point forward, wanted to be a writer. And I knew, though, that it was a long shot that most people. There are a lot more people who want to be writers than there are who get to be writers. So I was very practical. And I, like, did an agricultural economics degree, and I actually worked as an agricultural economist for a long time. But the little voice in the back of my head kept saying, you know, would 12 year old you be happy? Like, she wanted to write books. And so. So one day I sat down and I. I started writing again. So that's how I ended up here.
- [04:48]
Mikayla
Oh, my gosh, that is such a cool story. So did you. While you were sitting in that tractor, did you come up with Any of the ideas for your earlier work?
- [04:57]
Ally Carter
Oh, no, no. It would be. It would be like, you know, basically, I guess now at the time, I mean, I was very much into adulthood before I ever heard the term fan fiction. It would probably have been more that, you know, that age of fan fiction, like, oh, I'm going to write an episode of this TV show, or, oh, I wonder if they did another one of those books if this happened, you know, and now I'm like, oh, I was. I was totally writing fan fiction. I just had no idea that that's what it was, and I didn't write any of it down.
- [05:27]
Mikayla
So just in your brain kind of got your start with fan fiction.
- [05:31]
Ally Carter
Yeah, I. I think, okay, I think on some level we all do, whether we realize it or not, whether we ever have, like an AO3 account or not. We start with taking the stories that we've been told and thinking, but what if, like. And even to this day, like, the Blonde Identity started off with, you know, I. I love, love, love a sp. Spy movie. And. And I love the fact that sort of there's a whole, like, sub genre of spy movies that are amnesia spy movies. And I always ask myself, but what if you woke up and everyone thought you were a spy, but you weren't, and you were the spy's identical twin sister, and that's how we get Blonde Identity. And like now with the blonde who came in from the cold. But what if you had a book that, you know, you had two people who hated each other and you had the Mr. Mrs. Smith story. And I always thought, like, I. What I wanted is I love the, like, flashbacks of when they meet and they're on that same mission and like, I don't know, Columbia or where, like, somewhere in South America. And, you know, you get that, and then you get them in the present day trying to kill each other, and then they have to team up. And I was like, but what if you had a whole book that was like that? And also they didn't choose to get back together? Like, what if they, you know, woke up, had hangover style, don't remember the past 48 hours. I never wanted to lay eyes on you again, but I'm handcuffed to you in the desert. Let's go. And. And so that's. Even to this day, there is a. There is a degree to which you could say that I'm still writing fanfiction.
- [07:05]
Mikayla
I love it. So other than like, Mr. And Mrs. Smith or some of the other things that you've mentioned, do you have any authors or music or movies that you feel like directly inspire your writing?
- [07:19]
Ally Carter
Constantly. I think, you know, I. The first romance that I got kind of away from reading for a while when I was writing ya and I. But I missed it because I. What happens is when I'm on deadline or when I'm working, I become very, very hypercritical because I'm constantly looking for mistakes in my own work. And so it's very hard. And so I went through a phase where I just watched a lot of TV and then a friend of mine handed me a historical romance novel. And so I went like probably 15 years ago or so, I went on a deep dive into the world of historical romance. And that was about all I read for four or five years because it was so different from what I was writing. I could turn off my internal editor and just be here with this. And so that's, that's something that I've read a lot of. And then you just, you just kind of pick up things here and there. There's not really anything at the moment that I'm super like mega hardcore because at the moment I'm really hardcore on deadline. But you know, I, I've definitely, I've gone, you know, I've gone down historical romance rabbit hole. I've gone down some of the paranormal romance rabbit hole. I have not really gotten into Romantasy because I have. I. And this is a stupid reason not to, but it's a valid reason I think. Also I am terrible at languages and so like, I can't keep all of the like made up names and things kind of straight. So romantic and fantasy have never really hit it for me that, you know, I'll, I'll read pretty much anything.
- [08:53]
Mikayla
I love it. I, I will agree. Romantasy can be very intimidating. I feel like what has saved me, and maybe them as well is audiobooks. Hearing the pronunciation of them, I'm like, oh, that was not.
- [09:07]
Ally Carter
Yes, same.
- [09:09]
Mikayla
Oh, maybe you'll have to give it a try. We can get some recommendations. We can give you some intro. Yeah.
- [09:16]
Ally Carter
Oh, what's the good start? What is the good like entry point?
- [09:20]
Mikayla
Do you want young adult or do you want adult?
- [09:23]
Ally Carter
Yeah, I probably want adult.
- [09:27]
Reggie
I mean, I mean I'd probably say, well, Throne of Glass isn't necessarily.
- [09:34]
Mikayla
I don't feel like there's a ton of crazy like names. Yeah, there's a few you could pick up. Probably anything by like Sarah J. Maas or Rebecca Yaros's fantasy series is pretty, I would say, yeah, pretty Intro. Yeah, pretty intro to like fantasy.
- [09:52]
Reggie
Easy to grasp and understand.
- [09:54]
Mikayla
She might also like serpents. Vampires.
- [09:58]
Ally Carter
I do like a vampire. I do.
- [10:00]
Reggie
Yeah.
- [10:01]
Mikayla
Serpents in the wings of night.
- [10:03]
Ally Carter
Yeah.
- [10:03]
Mikayla
Or you might like, we just read Shield of Sparrows. It kind of has a little bit of a mystery element, which you might really like, because I really like that. Yeah, it's closer to kind of what you write a little bit, I feel like. And I think that author, Devony Perry, I think she writes kind of similar to you. Like romance, mystery, less spy, but like mystery romance. There's some underlying, like, crime committed, they're trying to solve a crime type vibes. You might enjoy that book.
- [10:33]
Ally Carter
I like, I like a character on a mission. I like a character with a, with an actual external goal. And it's that I'm sure that shows in all of my writing. Like, I think if I were to sit down and write, like in ya, I used to call them locker books with the kids, you know, and they have to end up like a lot of the scenes are just them standing outside the locker. And I was like, I couldn't write a locker book. I have so much respect for people who can, but I couldn't do that because they're not going anywhere and they're not doing anything. And so I, I like it. I like characters who have to go places and do things.
- [11:05]
Mikayla
Which I do appreciate that about your books because in both I've read the Blonde Identity and then the Most Wonderful Crime of the Year. They're very, I don't want to say high octane, but they're so entertaining because there's always something going on and there's always movement. It never feels stagnant. So you saying that makes 100%, that's very conscious.
- [11:24]
Ally Carter
Like, I, I, I really believe that books and plots should be able, and authors should be able to walk and chew gum at the same time. You know, I think, you know, I've, I've, We've all read the book or the scene where it's like, okay, well, this is the scene where we meet her little sister. Okay, great. What else are we doing in this scene? Oh, we just meet the little sister. That's all. That's, we're not, we're not introducing any. Okay. And then we have another scene where we just set up the town and like, okay, well, couldn't we have met the little sister while we were walking through town? Like, while, you know, couldn't we have like multitas there?
- [11:55]
Mikayla
I love it.
- [11:56]
Ally Carter
So I'm constantly trying to do that in the books. So I'm a pretty big believer that if. If a scene is not doing like two or three things, at least it needs to be advancing either the character or the plot or the world. And if it's not doing two of those three things, then you can probably combine it with another scene and. And kill two birds with one stone. It's kind of my philosophy, but. But it's not for some people, like a giant, you know, 800 page book and they look at my little, you know, 350 page books and they like, oh, well, you know, it can't be very good that everybody.
- [12:33]
Reggie
That's fascinating.
- [12:34]
Mikayla
Yeah. Well, I feel like it's also easier to pick up a book that is like 350 pages. And I really appreciate how. Page turnery. Turner page turning.
- [12:45]
Ally Carter
Thank you. That's very. That's very sweet. I. I'm the same way. Like, when I used to have a day job, I loved a book that I could get home from work, eat a quick bite of dinner, I don't have kids, and sit down and read the whole book before bedtime. Like, I know I don't like going to bed with an unfinished book. And so I either dnf it or I get it done before I turn in. And so I. That's why I just, I like a. I like a shorter, faster pace. Page turner book. Yeah.
- [13:15]
Mikayla
Well, it kind of just sounds like from even just talking about your reading, your journey as becoming a writer in just this short little conversation, you're writing what you wish you could have read, which is so cool. And as a reader, I appreciate that because you're writing what, you know, readers want, if that makes sense. But obviously still staying true to yourself.
- [13:35]
Ally Carter
You know, you never know that there. You know, I realized the other day I sold. I tell you I love you, but then I'd have to kill you 20 years ago this year. And my first gosh, which is now long out of print, came out 20 years ago. I've been in this decade, this business for two freaking decades now. And I've learned a few things along the way. And one of them is that trends come and go and everybody's always trying to predict the next trend or I want to get it. Like, is it too late to get in with romantasy? Do I need to move to just, you know, whatever? And I'm like, just write the book that you wish were on shelves because that's the. You have no idea. There's such a time lag. Especially traditional publishing, indie publishing, is obviously very different. But with traditional publishing, you know, I'm working on a book right now that won't be on shelves until next September, September of 26. And so. And as I think about what to sell next, I'm thinking about what I want to sell and what I want coming out in 2027 and 2028. Oh my gosh, I don't know what's going to be the hot big thing in 2028. Nobody does. Nobody knows what's going to be the hot thing in December. And so true. The only thing you can control is is this a book that you want to read. And chances are there's somebody else who wants to read it. Now. That's not to say that there are going to be a million of them. That's not to say that they're going to be, you know, a big, you know, a movie or a big book club pick or, you know, one of these other things. But, but there's going to be somebody out there who like me, looks at like a knives out is like, why didn't they kiss? There should have been making out. And then you're like, okay, well, I guess, I guess I write that now. And so there's going to be somebody else out there who wants it. It.
- [15:19]
Mikayla
Oh, for sure. This kind of ties into one of the questions we want to ask you, which I don't know if anybody listening knows this, but you did write a book. It's titled Dear Ally. How do you write a book where you answered questions for like teens wanting to get into the writing industry? So would that be your biggest piece of advice for someone who is listening, who may want to be a writer or kind of get into this industry?
- [15:42]
Ally Carter
I think, you know, write, read. As my biggest piece of advice is just read as much as you can and write as much as you can. And there are definitely a lot of great craft books out there. I loved Stephen King had on Writing was kind of a pivotal book for me. They're just, there's a lot there. The Internet is full of writing inner, you know, advice. The now that we're into the podcasting space, I'm sure there, there are a million and one craft podcasts out there and But I do, I am proud of Dear Ally. It's. I think I gave a lot of really sage advice at this point. I'm regretting at the time the best like person to keep going back to and using for examples like what's a book that everybody's read and I can't spoil and it was Harry Potter. And so now I'm like, I wish the thing wasn't full of Harry Potter references. But, I mean, hey, 20. 20 tens, you did what you did. And so I do think that the advice in there is still very, very valid and solid. But the. The thing that I always kept coming back to with kids is they always think about rewriting as I'm going to find typos, and. No, that's not what rewriting is. That's a proofread. There's a difference between a proofread and a rewrite. And so they think they have to get it pretty much right for the first time. And so I'm like, no, guys, I'm a terrible writer. I'm a really freaking good rewriter. I'm a. That's what I am, a bad writer, a great rewriter.
- [17:10]
Mikayla
And.
- [17:11]
Ally Carter
And so you don't have to get it right the first time there. You're not gonna just kick the worries out of your brain and. And do the best you can.
- [17:21]
Mikayla
Very inspiringly said. Yeah, no, seriously, we. Whenever we interview authors, I just always think to myself, I could never do your job. You guys have just the most interesting brains. And the way that every author is so different is really cool and inspiring. Like, just the fact that you all have such different stories.
- [17:38]
Reggie
No one has it the same.
- [17:40]
Mikayla
Yeah. No one does the same way. But you're all here, and you're all killing it.
- [17:43]
Ally Carter
Yeah. There is no right way, and there is no wrong way. And I probably say that in Dear Ally a million different times. Like, you just. You have one job, and that is to find the way that works for you for this book. And that's the other thing, is that, like, the book I'm working on right now is, for some reason, it is coming out differently than any other book I've ever written. And, you know, I. I don't know why. I don't know how, but. And so you just kind of eventually have to. My friend Rachel Hawkins, she always just says, go limp. Sometimes you just have to go limp and be like, all right, this is. This is what we're doing. And that. So this is what we're doing. And I. I wish I could make them listen to me, but they don't.
- [18:25]
Reggie
So you're saying you've done this for 20. 20 or. It's not 20 decades. Sorry.
- [18:28]
Ally Carter
Two decades feels like 20 decades.
- [18:31]
Reggie
I'm sure it feels like that two decades. Now, how many books have you published? And where would you suggest? Like, any listeners who haven't you know, dove into your books yet, where would you suggest they start?
- [18:43]
Ally Carter
Honestly, I. I think it's maybe 21 published books or 22.
- [18:47]
Mikayla
I can't remember. Oh, my gosh. Amazing.
- [18:50]
Ally Carter
And I think that for adult readers, I would definitely recommend probably starting with either. If it's Christmas time, if you're somebody who can read, you know, Christmas books year round, most wonderful time of the year is probably a great place to start. If it's Christmas time, definitely start there. Otherwise, if you like a spy sort of high octane adventure story, absolutely go Blonde Identity. And I also, I wrote the Blonde who Came in from the Cold. I was very conscious about wanting to write a book that you didn't have to read Blonde Identity first. So if you're at your local independent bookstore and they are out of Blonde Identity Identity, you can go ahead and take home Blonde who came in from the Cold. Like, that's. That's not going to be a problem. I think most people, like, I have actually have a friend who hadn't read Blonde. I didn't. I'm like, do me a favor, read this first. Tell me if it makes sense. And she's. She came back. She's like, totally made sense. So I feel. I feel confident handing that to a reader who hasn't read the first one. But I do think that there are probably some little inside jokes and things that you might laugh a little harder at if you've read them both. So. So I think either of those are a good place to start. If, however, you are a YA reader or you've got little kiddos, then for the littles, I'd start with the Winterborn series and the YAs. I think I might. I think I might start them off with not if I save you first, which was my standalone about the president's son, Secret Service agent's daughter, and they're lost in the wilderness of Alaska and a killer is on their tail. And so that's a standalone. That's my only y. A standalone. And it's. It's a good one to just kind of get a taste.
- [20:30]
Mikayla
Okay, well, I want to go read that one. Yeah, we read why all the time.
- [20:34]
Ally Carter
Yeah, People always say, you know, Blonde Identity was like Gallagher girls grown up. And it is. It absolutely is. But in a lot of ways, and especially from a story kind of standpoint, it is almost exactly like, not if I save you first.
- [20:49]
Mikayla
Okay.
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Ally Carter
It's. It's two people on the run and, you know, facing down, you know, dangerous elements and dangerous people, and they dovetail very Very well.
- [21:02]
Mikayla
I think it's so cool that you have, you have written books for if there was a family, every single family member could go to the bookstore and pick up a book by you. I think that's so cool.
- [21:14]
Ally Carter
Thank you. It was very accidental. I did not set out to tick all of those boxes. Taxes, but you just kind of go where the industry moves you. And again, I, Rachel Hawkins, I was on the phone with her one day and I had just finished the second Winterborn book and I was like, I, I don't know, do I write another middle grade? I will admit I did not love writing middle grade. Middle grade is very challenging for the sub genre that I write because why aren't they telling adults like, okay, we found this dead billionaire on the beach. Like, okay, well maybe let's pick up the phone and call 91 1. They're like, no, we're the kids. Handle it. Can you handle that? Like, are you, you know, you always try to like dovetail or thread that needle of like, okay, well you, the, the, the characters have to have agency. They have to be the ones saving the day. They have to be the ones in danger at the end, but they also can't be stupid. And so it's really hard to come up with a reason why a 12 year old has to save the day in a contemporary setting. And so I think that's why we do have a lot of, you know, like mythology based and things like that. Middle grade novels for adventure. Because you can be, okay, well you are the prophesied chosen one. There you go, you get, Go Percy Jackson, save the day. And, and nobody's gonna be like, well Percy should have told his mom. Well, Percy's mom knows. And this is, this is, this is what, this is Percy's lot in life. It's hard to pull that off in a contemporary setting. And so I was talking with Rachel about that and I said, you know, do I try this again? And she was like, she had just made the switch because she's also Aaron Sterling. And so her, her first adult romance had just come out. She's like, you need to come on in, the water's fine. And I was like, my readers, I've been, I've spent 15 years building up this fan base in ya. And she's like, no, no, no, no, NO. Your 15 year old fans are 30 now. They want your books that they're coming. And I'm like, oh, they do. And so now we're here.
- [23:19]
Mikayla
Oh, I, I hope that's okay to.
- [23:21]
Ally Carter
Say on Your podcast?
- [23:22]
Mikayla
Yeah. Oh my gosh, you're fine.
- [23:24]
Ally Carter
Yes, that's totally fine.
- [23:25]
Reggie
Totally unfiltered.
- [23:25]
Mikayla
You're good. One of our episodes is Bang, Marry, Kill. You're totally fine.
- [23:30]
Ally Carter
I'm golden. Yes.
- [23:32]
Reggie
Yes. So what was that transition like then? Was it, did it feel super daunting? Was it easier than, what was that.
- [23:41]
Ally Carter
Like, easiest thing I've ever done in my entire life. I am embarrassed of how easy that felt. So I actually had had the idea for Blonde Identity for ages. I tried to sell it as a ya. I tried to sell as a middle grade. I talked about it with my editor in both cases and we couldn't crack it because. And the problem was not. Zoe wakes up in the snow with a hot guy standing over her, yelling at her to run and people are after her. That's easy that, that you can pull off.
- [24:08]
Mikayla
Yeah.
- [24:08]
Ally Carter
The problem is why is Zoe's 16 year old sister a working spy? Yeah, you know, why is she like, is she a Gallagher girl, grown up? Are we now in like a, you know, kind of a multiverse kind of situation or a MCU kind of situation?
- [24:26]
Mikayla
Yeah, yeah.
- [24:26]
Ally Carter
Is it a, you know, is she, has she been right? Like, was it a parent trap style? And one of them was raised by a spy and one of them was raised by ordinary person, you know, and why again, why is a 16 year old doing this work? And so we could never quite crack that. And then I was like, I was on the phone with Rachel and I said, haha, what am I supposed to do? Dust off that old spy twins idea? Except now instead of, you know, being the daughter of a super secret villain, she's just a CIA agent who's been undercover with the Russian mob. And I was like, wait a second, what if? What if? And so I think because I had had the, the story in my brain for so long, it was so easy to sit down and write it. And, and I'm, I'm embarrassed at how easy it was and how much fun it was because again, I could kind of cast off the, you know, the worry that I've been carrying for 15 years of why aren't they telling an adult why, you know, why, why do these kids have to stay the day? They should really contact somebody who has training in this. And I was like, wait, they are the adults. They do have training in this. The reason that they can't contact the CIA is the CIA is one of the people chasing them. You know, it's. And it just, I was like, oh, I all, all of the sort of barriers went down when I made that call. And it was great.
- [25:44]
Mikayla
Not going to lie, I didn't ever think of it like that. But when you say all those things, I was like, that makes 100% sense. The fantasy people had it a little bit easy. Yeah, seriously, with the, the young adult and the prophecies, and Stu had it hard.
- [26:00]
Ally Carter
I had a little like to say, I've been swimming upstream and it's, it's the same sport, but it's. You're going against the current and also like, with the trends and things. And, you know, it helps a lot of times, I think, you know, it is an industry that is very much driven by tides. And so, you know, fourth wing came out of nowhere and all of a sudden it's romantasy everywhere. Or, you know, you've got these kind of big books and then people can kind of, you know, jump on and be like, hey, I've always wanted to write one of those. And then all of a sudden, you know, you walk into Barnes and Noble, there's a giant table of them. One of the challenges, I think I've realized, is that the type of book that I write, there's probably never going to be a giant table of them. And I hope so. I would love, I would love to be on. On the giant table someday. But it, but, but these kinds of like. And I've had a lot of people say, you know, I sat down to write a book like yours. I realize it's really hard. I'm like, yeah, kind of. I'm sorry, I hate to break it to you because there are these things that you kind of don't realize until you get into it that, oh, it's also very easy. Kind of tonally tone is the now my bane of existence. Because when you're trying to genre merge, you can. It's a, it's a Venn diagram. And you can only be where the genres overlap. And so, like, there's a part in Blonde Identity and, And probably also blonde who came in from the cold. Like, you know, where really dark and like, if this were just a spy thriller, you would, you know, the, the bad guys would be torturing her. They'd be pulling out her fingernails. You know, they'd be doing all these types of things. Can you do that in a rom com? No, you can't. And so you, you have to find the place where they overlap. And so you're constantly trying to, you know, again, thread that needle of. You can. You can do this here or you can go like, really comedic. But then it's not a thriller anymore. More. And it's very easy for. Especially on the YA when I was doing YA in middle grade for. To kind of go super agent Cody Banks and the. Or Spy Kid, and then he pulls out the gadget and he's got the little thing. And, and that worked great for that tone, but that wasn't the tone that I wanted. And so constantly thinking about tone, especially with, with blonde and with the blonde, but because, you know, I want them to have a lot of heart. I want you to feel like it's these two people and are they gonna make it? And all of the external conflict that they're facing really just sort of mirrors what's going on internally with them. And so you don't want it to be pulled out and like, oh, well, then we had an episode of Spy Kids that was right in the middle. And yeah, yeah. You, you want it to all go together.
- [28:46]
Mikayla
Well, I, I. With the blonde identity, you've. You achieved that. So. Yeah, it, yeah, it was, it was so much fun. I, and I truly hadn't read a book like that before. Yeah. So I hope you get your own table. I hope you're on that table because I, we all read a lot and genuinely, I haven't read a book that's. That was like that. Yeah.
- [29:07]
Ally Carter
Oh, thank you.
- [29:07]
Mikayla
Why is that? Like, I, I feel like there's a big fan base for, like, spy movies, and I'm just surprised that you're not already on the table because you should be great. Your work is great and it's different. And I think a lot of readers are craving different right now because it was really, like, saturated with, like, romantasy. But I think everyone's a little sick of it right now.
- [29:33]
Reggie
Yeah. Because a lot of things start to feel kind of copy paste sometimes. And you're like, I've kind of seen this done before. And I'm always asking myself, I finish a book and I'm like, I need something that's gonna shock me or something that's gonna just feel different. Like a little palette cleanser from all these other books that I've been reading. So.
- [29:53]
Ally Carter
And I think that's another way in which it's nice to have kind of the shorter books because again, you know, I've read three romanticies in a row. Okay. I want something kind of different. I want something that's a little bit, you know, a little bit of a palate cleanser, like you say. I, I do hope that someday I kind of am crossing My fingers that. That we will have a bit of a. I'm using the term and somebody's going to burn my house down for using this term, but real mystery kind of way, because, you know, we've always had. Mysteries have always been a thing. Romance has always been a thing. And I don't. And. And definitely I'm not the first person to combine the two. That it's. It has not really ever been a thing where, you know, I think. Because probably in most mystery stories series, nobody wants it to just be one book. Like, you're trying. You're trying to set up a series that you can get four or five or six or 20 books out of. And so. But a romance, of course, is. They stand alone like you've got the happily ever after, and then they're. They're done. So that's. That may be why we have, like, you've got your mystery romantic subplots, but they. They take 10 books to get together and you're like, oh, my gosh, in book six, they kiss. And I'm like, okay, okay, let's. Let's move it on here, people. Yeah, so I. It would. It would be really fun to do that. You know, you just. When Ryan Johnson talks about Knives out, he said he wanted to put an Agatha or Alfred Hitchcock engine in an Agatha Christie car. So whenever I wrote Most Wonderful Crime of the Year, I was like, what if I put an Emily Henry engine and an Agatha Christie car?
- [31:25]
Mikayla
Yes. That's the perfect way to describe that book. Yeah.
- [31:29]
Ally Carter
So that's. That's kind. I'm like, it Just. Just do that, folks. Just do that. 20 of y' all do that. We can have a table. That would be great. Let's get us a table.
- [31:37]
Reggie
There's. Yeah, well, there's.
- [31:39]
Mikayla
And then Barnes and Noble or whatever indie bookstore. I can put Emily Henry, Emily Henry in an act. What did you say? Emily.
- [31:46]
Ally Carter
Emily Henry engine and an Agatha Christie car.
- [31:49]
Mikayla
Yes. That's what the indie bookstores can put on the little sign on the table, and people will love that.
- [31:56]
Ally Carter
I mean, that's what I want to read. It's what I want to read so. Well.
- [31:59]
Reggie
And just hearing you talk about it for anyone who hasn't read your books, it's like, I would. I think you'd be silly if you didn't think it was interesting to read something like that. You know what I mean? So I just think that it's so fascinating to pick your brain because, I mean, you can pick up a book, enjoy it, whatever, but getting to like hear how all the pieces in your brain work and the work that goes in behind the scenes just makes me want to put pick up the books even more, you know.
- [32:26]
Ally Carter
Thank you.
- [32:27]
Mikayla
I love it. Well, I personally would love to see your books on the big screen. Would you ever want that to happen? And if so, what book would you want it to be?
- [32:41]
Ally Carter
I so fun story, fun fact. Like when I, when I said that, you know, back I, you know, had my day job and I was like, what? I, you know, I want to get back into writing. The things I wrote first were actually screenplays. And so I very much wanted to be a screenwriter. I wanted to make movies. I quickly realized that that was kind of silly because it's just they make so few movies a year and they make even fewer now than they used to, but they publish so many books a year. And so the numbers were not. The math wasn't mathing. But yes, I would love that. So like, you know, the old original paperback copies, I don't know what kind of edition you had of love you kill you. But on the back it said, you know, under option for film by Walt Disney Fiction Pictures. And so, yeah, to this day people are like, is Disney ever going to make that movie? And I'm like, Disney hasn't had those rights in 18 years. And so it's, you know, it's, it's crazy that like that property and so many of my books have been in and out of option for so very long. But I would love to see it happen it. So I'm open to it. You know, I do have some things under option right now in development. I'm, I feel pretty good about it, but I felt good before and I've always been burned, so we'll see. But I would very much love that. I, I think that it would be, you know, the problem with the blonde series is it would be expensive to make because you've got, you know, lots of sets and explosions and things. I would think most wonderful would be fun and cheap and easy to make, but I don't get to make them. So. But, but I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm, I'm remain optimistic, cautiously optimistic. We've got some really. I had a bunch of calls like this, like interview type things last year for a property and it was, it was incredible to hear, you know, again, like my readers have now grown up and so the girls who were like 12 with their braces coming through my signing line being like, one of these days I'm going to Grow up. And I'm going to work in Hollywood and I'm going to turn this into a movie. And like, oh, this? Yes. That's sweet. And then they're like, hey, remember that time that I was at your signing? And so they have grown up and they're working in Hollywood and they want to turn my stuff into movies. And they're incredible. They are kicking butt and taking names, and so I'm so proud of them.
- [35:01]
Mikayla
Oh, my gosh, how cool that your books did that. Like, stuck with them from the time they were young to the time they're now working in Hollywood. What a full circle moment for you. That is so cool.
- [35:14]
Ally Carter
Wild. I also did an event in D.C. when blonde identity came out. I'm going back there on tour in a couple of weeks, so I hope these. These girls are able to come back. But the number of girls who came through and were like, I. I loved you when I was a kid. Now I work for the FBI, and I'm like, oh, my gosh. Yes. I. Now I'm. Now I'm a. You know, I work at the Pentagon. And totally. I mean, they're doing. They're doing. They are. I'm with this department. I work at the National Archives. You know, like, they all had jobs like that. And I was like, like, how many of you in here have a security clearance? And like, half the room came up. Oh, my gosh.
- [35:50]
Mikayla
And honestly, that's probably all because of your book.
- [35:51]
Ally Carter
Yeah, I kind of think it was. I mean, they didn't pick up those books accidentally. They picked it up because they had kind of a natural interest. I think it may be that type of thing, but a lot of them, like, some of them were like, I can't tell you where I work, but your books are very popular there.
- [36:09]
Mikayla
Oh, my gosh.
- [36:10]
Ally Carter
They grew up in life.
- [36:12]
Mikayla
It's amazing.
- [36:13]
Ally Carter
It makes me so happy.
- [36:15]
Mikayla
Oh, I wanted to go to the Gallagher Girls School so badly. I wanted to be them. Obviously, I took a different route than a spy or, you know, working for the FBI, but I. I loved it still. I think about it all the time, and I was seriously so excited that we were doing this today. I mean, I'm trying to remember. I swear, when we started this podcast, I remember one of the episodes we did, you talked about the gala Girl Girl series. I think you said it was one of your favorite series.
- [36:46]
Ally Carter
Yeah.
- [36:47]
Mikayla
Yes. Yes. Yeah. I. So amazing. I. I loved it.
- [36:51]
Ally Carter
I.
- [36:52]
Mikayla
Right when I got married, I went through a phase where I reread all of my, like, ya, Books. And that was one of the series I read. And I was like, I love it just the same as I did when I was younger. So I just think it's so cool. I, I'm actually so impressed that you've made that big of an impact where people are like, yeah, I work with a security clearance because, you know, your books kind of pushed me in that direction. That's so cool.
- [37:22]
Ally Carter
My mind, it definitely does.
- [37:25]
Mikayla
Sorry to kind of go along with the movie question. Do you have any, like, fan casts? Are, do you ever like, envision, like, actors, actresses, or is it kind of just like you make up these characters? Like, I'm curious what your brain envisions when you write your book.
- [37:44]
Ally Carter
I almost always will have somebody in mind, you know, And a lot of times it is because, you know, things have started as a, you know, almost like fan fiction in my mind. Like, okay, well, what if Captain America and Black Widow were in love, but they broke up and then they woke up handcuffed to each other? And so then, you know, as you're writing, you're like, okay, well, now there's Scarlett Johansson and Chris Evans. Okay, shucks. I have to envision these people this whole time. Like, you know, it's, it's, it starts like that. I think every author in America in this moment. Is it David Cornsweet? Is that how you say his name? I can't remember the guy.
- [38:24]
Mikayla
The new Superman.
- [38:26]
Ally Carter
Like, I think we are all like, well, now my hero's David Cornsweet. And, you know, obviously, and, and so, which is great because I was. Chris Heavens was a little too. He was getting a little too heavily in my rotation. So it's a different, you know, tall, dark haired guy with a bit of, bit of stubble. Oh, shucks.
- [38:44]
Reggie
Yeah.
- [38:45]
Ally Carter
But, you know, we all go through that, I think. And, and one of the main reasons, honestly, is because I need. It's hard for me to keep track of things like, you know, hair color, eye color, especially, you know, and so if I'm like, okay, no, this person is Jody Comer, which was always in blind identity who I was envisioning for Zoe. And I was like, okay, well, Jody Comer's got like that kind of, you know, like a dishwater blonde and green eyes. I'm like, okay, there she is. That's, that's, that's my Zoe. And so if I ever kind of had to be like, and he looked into her, what color are those eyes again? Okay, now I can remember that. Yeah, so that, that's just a little thing But I think it helped. Helps to kind of visualize. And especially. So there's a character in the blonde who came in from the cold, who's kind of an older. She's not retired, she could retire, but she's like an 80 year old sort of grand dam of the CIA. And so of course, in my mind, like, she's Helen Mirren. Like. And so even, even the whole script, her name was Helen Mirren in, you know, the first draft of the book. And somebody's like, so you do realize you have to change this. Yeah, it'll be tragic, but, you know, she just was Helen Mirren. And in my mind, somebody's gonna, I'm gonna go on tour and somebody's gonna ask me about that character and I'm gonna be like, I don't know that character. Like, oh, no, that's what I changed Mirren to. So.
- [40:07]
Mikayla
Oh my gosh.
- [40:08]
Reggie
Okay. Well, I was gonna say it's so funny that you mentioned Chris Evans, because I'm pretty. So every book club episode that we do at the very end, we talk about like, who would we fan cast if this were to be adapted into film tv? And I want to say we all thought of Chris Evans for Most Wonderful.
- [40:25]
Mikayla
Crime of the Year. Yeah, we did, 100%.
- [40:28]
Reggie
So hearing you say that was so validating because we're always like, I wonder if, like we're totally wrong with the direction, like what they wanted us to think for. You know what I mean? So that's very validating.
- [40:38]
Ally Carter
Even though I am thinking David Cornsweet, like, I think he would be, because. Yes. Cause Ethan in Most Wonderful Crime, he's got that kind of lovable himbo vibe. Like, he's a tiny bit goofy. Just a little. He could go goofy. He could, he's, he's teetering, he's right there. But then, you know, you can pull him back and he can also be like Mr. Macho Guy. So I think he would be fantastic. But yes. So, you know, I always wanted to pitch it as Knives out, but with kissing. And so we were working on the COVID and I was like, okay, well this, this isn't giving knives out. And then. Because all of the early drafts of the COVID he's in a leather jacket. Of course. Because he's the leather jacket. And then I was like, wait a second, what if, what if instead of a leather jacket, he's in the knives out sweater? And then they, they were like, okay, we can do that. So then they put him in that sweater and then I made him change it like five times because they couldn't get the color just right. And I'd be like, nope, that's. That's too eggshell. It really needs to be ivory. Okay, no, no, now that's beige. Don't do beige. It needs to be like, I, I was an absolute pain in the butt over the color of that sweater, but I stand by it. They got it perfect. So.
- [41:50]
Mikayla
No, I love the color cover of that book.
- [41:53]
Ally Carter
Thank you.
- [41:54]
Reggie
That it makes so much sense now.
- [41:55]
Mikayla
It's so unique and so good. I love that cover. It's very eye catching as well. And I think there's a lot of books that look very similar. And you want, in a world of books that look similar, you want it to be unique. Unique and different and eye catching. So I loved it.
- [42:12]
Ally Carter
You do, you want it to be unique, but you also want people to look at it and know what it is. So, you know, you can, you can put, put a cover on that that nobody's ever seen before. But is it, is it a cover that makes them be like, that looks like something I would like. And so you're trying, you're trying to kind of, you know, this is, this is different, but it's also a little bit the same. Like, you know, you know, you like a book like this, but this one's different than the other books that you have liked. And so you're trying to do a bunch of different things at the same time.
- [42:48]
Reggie
Well done.
- [42:49]
Ally Carter
I'm so glad that somebody else does that. Like their whole art departments and they, they hired artists to do it and like an external artist and they did a great job. And, and I'm so glad that again, somebody else does that because I have no artistic ability. I just have very strong opinions on sweater colors, so.
- [43:08]
Mikayla
Well, you have artistic ability in your writing.
- [43:13]
Ally Carter
I like to think so. I wish I just, so I do, you know, draw out like, no, this is, this is what this room looks like or this is, you know, how, how this character would look down or, you know, because sometimes they'll send me things. We've got a really, really fun piece of fan art that are art that will be included with the pre orders and that is. I think we're going to actually maybe debut. But we hired a cartoonist and they, so they, they actually have cart. We have a like actual cartoon as if it were a graphic novel of my favorite.
- [43:48]
Mikayla
Oh my gosh.
- [43:49]
Ally Carter
So I'm like bare bones. Artistic ability just so I could like, tell the artist what it looked like. So we had to go through A few passes on that. Like, no, actually he would be, he wouldn't be in the water. He would be there, you know, and so some of that kind of stuff. But it's, it's so beautiful. I cannot wait for people to see it.
- [44:09]
Mikayla
Oh, I'm excited to see that. And it's for the blonde who came in the cold, right?
- [44:14]
Ally Carter
Came in from the cold, yes. And so I don't know. I think it will go out. I'm not entirely sure how we're going to use it. I think it's going to go out for people who do the pre orders through Watermark Books in Wichita that we may be using it elsewhere or we may not be using it there. I'm not 100 sure. But it's, it's, it's really, really cool. It'll definitely be. We'll be using it like online and stuff. So you'll all be able to see it.
- [44:37]
Mikayla
Oh, I'm excited.
- [44:38]
Reggie
So fun. So along those lines of the blonde who came in from the cold, what can you tell our listeners? You've already given us a little bit about it, but what can you tell our listeners about. Because it's coming out August 5th.
- [44:50]
Ally Carter
August 5th, yes. So when I was working on the Blonde Identity, I had not sold a second book. I. Cause I've had, you know, kind of a sequel block sometimes. And so the two, the two book deal that I did was Blonde Identity and Most Wonderful Crime. And but as I was working on it, I was like. And then Alex came onto the page. So Zoe's identical twin sister, the rogue spy, comes flying onto the page on, literally like on a motorcycle and leather pants and stuff. And I was like, oh, oh, oh, this girl. This girl I want to get to know and spend some time with. With. And then there's a line in Blonde Identity where the hero and the heroine are talking about where could the sister be? And he says, well, I could check with her, her nemesis, but he got out of the game five years ago. I was like, oh, okay. So she has a nemesis who has administered. Who's a former spy and got out of the game five years ago. Okay. And then let's. And then Zoe's like, is it an enemies to lovers situation? He's like, stop saying that. So I was like, well, Alex is clearly in enemies to lover situation with this former nemesis guy. But the problem that I've realized, one of the challenges of writing the type of book that I write is your plot fuse and your character fuse all have to be the same length you can't have, you know, like, I love Ali Hazelwood book. I love a book that, you know, takes place over, like, a whole semester or a whole summer or a whole. Whatever. I can't do that because somebody's chasing them. And so if. If the. If. If some, you know, you can't, like, have these two people are on the run, they find a safe place and they hide out there for six months and they fall in love. And then, no, they've. They've got. You've got to sustain that. And so I was. How. How do I show that? And then I actually, I read people we meet on vacation. I was like, okay, what if. I basically did people we meet on stakeout. Like, what if it was present day? They. They wake up handcuffed to each other in the dark. Flashback 10 years ago, they meet at spy school, present day, somebody's chasing them through the desert. Flashback nine years ago, they go on a mission together. And so we. We know that in the present day, somebody is chasing them. Somebody wants something. We don't know who that person is. We don't know what that item is. And so every flashback then is us introducing, like, you know, I worked really, really hard on this, and probably nobody else is going to get it. But, like, everything in the present day triggers almost the memory of the past. Oh, and so, like, they see a tattoo of a guy and he's like, looks familiar. And she's like, oh, darn it, we're gonna have to go back to the island, aren't we? He's like, yeah. And so then the next thing is them at the island, you know, and.
- [47:45]
Mikayla
So I love that you.
- [47:46]
Ally Carter
Everything, kind of. So you're getting the information about what happened in their past, both the. Both on the mission standpoint. So we're meeting the villains, and we're meeting. Seeing the McGuffins and those types of things, but we're also watching them go from absolute rivals who hate each other at the. At the Farm, the CIA training facility, to people who have to do their first mission together, to people who reluctantly realize, oh, crap, we're really good at working together, to, you know, and then you've got. Got the point where he's like, I'm not going into the field anymore because he's got a photographic memory. And my favorite line is, he's like, do you. You know what that is, right? And she says, yes, of course I know what that is. It means you can't. It means you remember. And he says, no, it means I can't forget. And so he says, I remember every time somebody came for you. I remember every time you almost died. I remember every stab wound and every bullet wound and everything. He's like, I won't be here. He's like, the. He's like. So he's like, I'm leaving because I will not watch you die.
- [48:48]
Mikayla
Oh, my gosh.
- [48:50]
Ally Carter
That doesn't sell anybody. That is so good.
- [48:54]
Mikayla
Chills.
- [48:55]
Ally Carter
And then he gives her, like, a bracelet, and he's like, but if you need me, I will come for you. I will always come for you. And so the look on all of your faces. Oh, my gosh. So happy.
- [49:07]
Mikayla
Love it.
- [49:08]
Ally Carter
But, yeah, so that's. So you get. So that's when he got out of the game and he was like, I'm. I'm in love with you. Not gonna watch you die. Goodbye.
- [49:16]
Mikayla
Oh, epic, epic love confession.
- [49:21]
Reggie
All right, I'm ready to buckle up.
- [49:24]
Mikayla
Ready to dive right on it.
- [49:25]
Ally Carter
Dig in. It's. It's a lot. I will say that a lot of people have struggled with the back and forth of it because it. It is hard because you're also in dual pov. So you're like, are you him in the past or him in the present? Or him? And so you've got, like, four balls that are kind of in the air at one time. So. But. So I think I love me a.
- [49:44]
Reggie
Dual point of view. I love Of a full circle. Yep.
- [49:48]
Ally Carter
We. We really. You get to know them both very well. You. And you get to know, you know, what made her the way she is. Like, you know, if you. If you had an identical twin sister who was born with a bad heart with holes in her heart, she almost died multiple times. And all of it is because. Because literally, in the womb, you took up more resources than you needed. And so, like, she has been felt guilty about almost killing. She's like. There's a line in the book where she says something like, you know, I almost killed somebody before I had opposable thumbs. Like, don't tell me I'm not a badass, basically. Like, I. I. You know, I. I have, like, don't. Don't come for me, dude. I. I know what I'm doing. And she just. And she's dealing with all that good guilt. So much survivor guilt. And. And so it's. It was very fun. I love them.
- [50:41]
Mikayla
It sounds amazing. Yeah.
- [50:42]
Ally Carter
Thank you.
- [50:43]
Mikayla
Dual point of view. Dual. Dual timelines. I'm sold. I'm so sold. I was sold before, but now I'm even more sold. More sold.
- [50:51]
Reggie
So where did your.
- [50:53]
Mikayla
Because I feel like a lot of them have to do with, like, spies mysteries. Where did your, like, the start? Did you, like, watch a certain movie or, like, read a certain book that kind of set you on this trajectory of, like, spy movies?
- [51:10]
Ally Carter
I honestly don't know. I remember years ago, I was at Book Expo America, which they don't have anymore. R I P B E A and I was. We were standing outside the Javits center in New York with my editor, and we were waiting on a car, and this white van kept driving by, and I kind of turned her. And I'm like, you know, that's the fourth time that van stripped and by. And she just looked at me. She's like, that is such a you thing to notice. And, and so. And I remember for a long time I would write at a Panera Bread and. But I, I, I told somebody once, I'm like, if I put on Twitter or whatever that I'm writing there that day, I always take a different route home. I never come home the same way. And they said, really? I said, why? And they said, I said, because that makes you harder to kidnap. And they were like, okay, do you do that because you write about spies? And I had to think about it for a long time. I thought, no, I write about spies because I do that. Like, I think I'm just kind of wired a little bit that way. And so, like, I can, I can watch any movie, any book, anything. Like the, the book I'm working on right now that we haven't announced yet. And it's not Spies, but it is a mystery. And it's. Because I totally misunderstood where the plot was going in this book. Book. And I was like, oh, my gosh, this is going to happen. And then this is going to happen. And then that's going to happen. And then, of course, none of those things happen. Like, not. None of those things happen. And I was so bitterly angry about it. And then somebody's like, you know, you can write that now. I'm like, oh, I can. That's great. Good to know. I'll just write that then, because it's I somebody. Like, there was a mysterious knocking in the night. I'm like, okay, well, clearly, clearly, this is what has happened. No, it's never.
- [52:55]
Mikayla
You're just figuring out the mystery along with your readers just before sometimes.
- [52:59]
Ally Carter
Yeah, for sure.
- [53:01]
Mikayla
That's so cool. Yeah, that's so cool. So what you're saying is, in another life, you would have been a spy. You would have worked for the CIA?
- [53:08]
Ally Carter
I don't know. I don't. I am not smart enough. Like, you have to be so smart to do that. You have to be able to hold so much knowledge in your brain, and I can't hold anything in my brain. That's why I have a. Like, 17 different whiteboards in my office right now. But I do think I could have been like, a. If they need somebody to sit in a room and brainstorm, like, how do we get these people out? Yeah, I want to do that. I can. I can help you with that.
- [53:38]
Mikayla
Like an extraction type crew.
- [53:41]
Ally Carter
I would not have been in the field. No, because, like, even when I, like my three years of high school Spanish, it all sounded just like this. So can't do the languages, can't do the math, can't do any of that. But you need an unconventional way of getting somebody out of, you know, Guadalajara. I'm your girl. Call me.
- [54:00]
Mikayla
So there you go. Hey, I think there's just as much talent in that than as being smart with words and numbers, so thank you.
- [54:11]
Reggie
So you're working on a book right now they said will come out next year. Do you ever. Do you have time to read? Do you. Do you, like, is there anything you're reading right now? Do you have a current read? Or are you just like, I gotta write.
- [54:26]
Ally Carter
I, I. Right now, I really have to write. I'm in the. I would love to turn a draft in before I leave on tour on the 5th. And again, for some reason, this book just does not come out the same like always before. I can write. Like, I actually do my first drafts kind of as a screenplay because it's just the scenes and the dialogue. And so I know, like, okay, who needs to be in this scene? If the big twist is this, then I need, you know, that, like, oh, he's got a pocket knife or whatever. I need that to be introduced here. You know, I can kind of like. Like almost like a doll house, like, kind of mock everything up. I can't. For some reason, this book is not letting me do that. So I'm kind of having to figure it out as I go along, and it's driving me crazy. Crazy. But okay, you. You do you, baby. But so I haven't been reading as much as I. I really should. I'm loving Superheroes need pr and I'm just author's name because I'm a terrible person.
- [55:27]
Reggie
Somewhere around here.
- [55:30]
Ally Carter
I actually got, like, an audiobook deal of, like, some old Agatha Christie audiobooks. And so on my drives, I've Been listening to those because I realized like, oh, everybody asking me all these Agatha Christie questions and I haven't read all of the Agatha Christie's. Well, a. There are a bunch of them, but even like some of the big, like more famous ones I either haven't read or read so long ago I'd forgotten them. So that's been really fun to kind of rediscover her. And. Yeah, I just have not been able to dig into the books like I would love to do. And, and maybe as honestly, as hard as Tour is, and it's very, very physically and, you know, just emotionally grueling. One of the nice things is you kind of. You have all day, like while you're sitting in the airport and stuff, you. You can kind of guilt free just read. You're like, okay. I mean, I've got a bottle of water and a bag of peanut M M's and you know, the new Emily Henry, let's go. And so you're. It's. It's kind of nice in a way. I'm kind of looking forward to that. That.
- [56:34]
Reggie
Yeah, that's exciting. But I mean, everything you're saying, totally valid. I mean, there's blood, sweat and tears that go into writing a book, I'm sure.
- [56:41]
Ally Carter
So there is. And you. I get again, I. One of the hard parts too is even if I am reading something, I feel like I'm not giving that a fair read because I'm so hypercritical in my own brain at the time that it's. I. I can't turn off my internal editor. So that, that's, you know, that may be when I watch a show or something. Like the show, the show that I love this year that they just announced it's not being renewed and I'm so sad about it. Is the Residence on Netflix? It was a new Shonda Rhimes show about a murder at the White House.
- [57:14]
Mikayla
Okay.
- [57:14]
Ally Carter
You love like, Monk or kind of a quirky Detective.
- [57:18]
Reggie
Okay.
- [57:19]
Ally Carter
It's great. It is so great. I am so sad that they canceled it and they're not doing a season two.
- [57:25]
Reggie
That's a bummer. Well, that kind of leads into our next question, which is like, what's something you're currently obsessed with right now? You kind of shared your TV show, but is there any, like, snacks or like, products that you just are like, books aside, let me tell you what I'm loving.
- [57:41]
Ally Carter
Well, I'm trying to do the whole, like, eating healthier thing. And so I have like my, my tick tock algorithm or my Instagram algorithm is all the like high protein stuff, stuff. And so I am eating a lot more cottage cheese, I'm drinking a lot more Fair Life milk. You know, I'm doing a lot more of those types of things. I've actually two friends and I are doing a. This is kind of an obsession is we are actually going on a Viking river cruise in December to the Christmas markets. Oh, my God.
- [58:13]
Reggie
My mother in law has been on several Viking cruises and I. Every time she talks about them like, you got to take me next time, because they sound so fun. But to go to the Christmas market, that's a dream, right?
- [58:24]
Ally Carter
And so.
- [58:25]
Reggie
Oh, I'm so excited for you.
- [58:26]
Ally Carter
A lot of times when I'm sitting down at night and just kind of scrolling through my phone, like, I'm like looking at stuff for that trip, like, you know, what markets do you want to hit? When we were in wherever and stuff. And so that has been really, really fun and a good distraction. And also, like, you know, especially as I'm working on. I don't think it's a spoiler to say, but my new book will be another Christmas book. And so I'm like, I'm trying to get in that, like, Christmas mindset too. So that's a lot of fun. So prob. You know, And I, I know we're going to be by far the youngest people on the Viking river cruise, but I'm like, I'm like, I'm telling myself, okay, we're the young, hot ones.
- [59:01]
Mikayla
Yeah. Yeah.
- [59:03]
Ally Carter
So there aren't many places where I get to be young or hot, so I'm like, yeah, good job.
- [59:08]
Mikayla
No, that's like the perfect reward because I. I mean, I don't know if you'll be finished writing your new book, but you'll be done with Tor. You'll hopefully be done writing your book. Perfect thing to look forward to.
- [59:19]
Reggie
Oh, that's. I'm excited for you.
- [59:21]
Ally Carter
Lots of exciting things that.
- [59:23]
Reggie
And I mean, I'm excited that I'm hoping to have a book here.
- [59:26]
Ally Carter
Done. Done. Like the book will be in copy edits or whatever by then, so that would be. That would be great. And so I'm going with writers and we're gonna like, brainstorm what we do next and stuff, and it's gonna be really great. How exciting.
- [59:39]
Reggie
Well, we're so excited for you and we're so excited to read the Blonde who Came in who Came in from the Cold. I just, I. If we weren't doing anything after this right now, I'd be Like, like, okay.
- [59:51]
Mikayla
Let'S go pick it up right now.
- [59:52]
Ally Carter
Get my hands on that.
- [59:54]
Reggie
But yeah. So excited for you and we really appreciate you taking the time to sit and chat with us. This has been a highlight, so thank you so much. Where can readers find you? Like, just Ally Carter, correct on, like Goodreads, your Instagram.
- [60:11]
Ally Carter
All the things I'm, I'm so, so good at marketing. I'm a different name on every one of them because I'm super smart that way. Instagram, I'm probably on the most. I'm the Ally Carter there. I think I'm also the Ally Carter on threads. And then alicarter.com is my website and probably the best way to always have the most up to date information is sign up for my newsletter. I don't send them very often. Like, I only send them when I have news. So you get like two, maybe three newsletters a year. And so if you want to make sure that you don't miss, you know, a tour date or something like that, then that's a great. And it's free. You know, it's, it's, it's probably the best way to always, always know what's going on.
- [60:53]
Mikayla
Perfect. And don't forget, guys, go pick up your copy of the Blonde who Came in from the cold comes out August 5th.
- [60:58]
Ally Carter
Yes. Thank you.
- [60:59]
Mikayla
We're so excited.
- [61:00]
Ally Carter
We're so. It's going to be an audio too. I'm excited. Emily Elliott and Andrew Eden, who's AKA Teddy Hamilton, are doing the audiobook. So it's going to be fantastic. It's gonna be great.
- [61:11]
Mikayla
Oh, yay. I'm so. We can't wait. Oh my gosh.
- [61:14]
Reggie
Looking forward to it.
- [61:15]
Mikayla
Ali, thank you so much. This was so fun.
- [61:17]
Ally Carter
You guys have a great rest of your day. Foreign welcome to Sky Talkers. I'm your host, Charlotte. Hey, everyone. I'm your other host, Caitlyn. From interviews with the cast of the latest show on Disney plus, to in depth discussions about themes in Star wars, to deep dives into the behind the scenes of Lucasfilm, we hope that when you tune into Sky Skytalkers, you feel like you're a part of the conversation. Our goal from the beginning of Skytalkers was to create a space where we could talk about Star wars in the way we wanted to. Caitlin and I are lifelong best friends who love Star wars and have been podcasting about the galaxy far, far away since 2017. Join Us Weekly in laughing, obsessing, and exploring all the parts of our favorite galaxy, whether you've been a fan for over 40 years or just a few months. Listen to new episodes of Skytalkers every Thursday. Wherever you get your podcast.
- [62:14]
Mikayla
Podcasts.